Jessica PhelanOctober 25, 2012 08:14

Chatter: Deadly Hurricane Sandy strikes Jamaica, Cuba

Hurricane Sandy spreads life-threatening rains and winds across the Caribbean, Syria may or may not have a ceasefire, and the UK exits recession - for now.

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Graphic. (Antler Agency/GlobalPost)

Hurricane Sandy spreads life-threatening rains and winds across the Caribbean, Syria may or may not have a ceasefire, and the UK exits recession - for now.

Hurricane Sandy gains force as it heads towards Jamaica, Cuba

Talia RalphOctober 24, 2012 16:14

Hurricane Sandy gained force Wednesday as it made its way towards Jamaica, where people were taking shelter from the strong winds and rain.

Tropical Storm Sandy predicted to hit Jamaica as hurricane

Samantha StainburnOctober 23, 2012 18:58

Sandy is the 18th named storm of this year’s Atlantic storm season, according to the AP.

Erin Conway-SmithSeptember 13, 2012 10:29

Robert Mugabe makes Jamaica angry by calling Jamaican men potheads and drunks

Jamaicans are upset by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's comments that Jamaican men smoke marijuana freely and "are always drunk."

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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe speaks during a rally marking his 88th birthday in Mutare on February 25, 2012 with a trademark attack on gays and foreigners at a rally of his supporters. (Jekesai Njikizana /AFP/Getty Images)

Mugabe's comments received widespread media coverage in Jamaica, where they were criticized by Jamaican politicians and musicians.

Caribbean coral reefs: “time is running out” to save them, says IUCN report

News DeskSeptember 7, 2012 17:20

The IUCN report said, on average, only 8 percent of the reefs’ surface area is live coral, down from 50 percent in the 1970s.

Christopher Dudus Coke, Jamaican drug lord, sentenced to 23 years in US prison

Samantha StainburnJune 8, 2012 16:56

"With his conviction, Coke is no longer able to traffick drugs in the US, move guns across our border or terrorize people, and with today's sentence, he will now spend a very long time in prison for his crimes," Preet Bharara, US attorney for Manhattan said, according to the Guardian.

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 6, 2012 05:29

Jamaica and Queen Elizabeth the Second

"I think time come" to move on says Caribbean nation's new Prime Minister

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Portia Simpson Miller at her swearing in as Prime Minister of Jamaica yesterday. She called for a Jamaican to replace Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as the country's ceremonial head of state. (RATIBA HAMZAOUI/AFP/Getty Images)

Jamaica celebrates 50 years of independence in 2012 with a new Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller of the People's National Party, and a new attitude to what is still called "the mother country," Britain.

Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica's first female prime minister, returns to power with election win

Jessica PhelanDecember 30, 2011 09:51

In her victory speech Thursday night, Portia Simpson Miller promised to "unearth the greatness that lives in every single Jamaican," despite the country's huge debt burden and high unemployment.

Stephanie GarlowJune 29, 2011 14:28

Jamaicans rue independence from Britain

Jamaicans believe their country would have been better off under British rule.

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Queen Elizabeth II knights Jamaican Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen on June 12, 2009. (Tim Ireland/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Most Jamaicans believe their country would have been better off it had remained a British colony, says a new survey by a Jamaican newspaper.

Sixty percent of Jamaicans said it would have been better to remain a colony. Seventeen percent disagreed with that view, and 23 percent said they didn't know.

The poll was conducted over four days by U.S. pollster Bill Johnson. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent.

Jamaica achieved independence in 1962. The country is preparing for celebrations for the 50th anniversary of independence.

It is not clear what reasons the respondents had for their choices, but the island has struggled with high levels of poverty and crime. reports the BBC.